A new report from a leading solar industry group and a top energy data analytics firm said about 43 GW of new solar power generation capacity was added across the U.S. last year. The Solar Market Insight 2025 Year in Review report released March 10 notes that solar power has been the nation’s leading new generation source in each of the past five years.
Solar accounted for 54% of all new electricity-generating capacity added to the U.S. grid in 2025.
The report, developed by the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and Wood Mackenzie, said that despite actions by the Trump administration, including changes in regulation and tax policy designed to limit clean energy, the economics of solar power remain strong. The report’s authors noted that seven of the top 10 states for new solar power additions were won by Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election. The groups also said the U.S. is expected to add 490 GW of new solar power generation capacity by 2036, bringing cumulative installed capacity to almost 770 GW over the next decade.
Wood Mackenzie said that throughout all of its U.S. power sector outlooks, solar capacity accounts for about half of all new generation capacity added each year through 2060.
“Solar and storage continue to dominate new capacity additions to the grid despite policy headwinds. American households and businesses of all sizes are demanding solar + storage because they deliver fast, affordable power to help meet rapidly rising demand,” said Darren Van’t Hof, interim president and CEO of SEIA. “Washington must deliver policy certainty for the market to work and to keep pace with growing energy demands. Without this certainty, less solar will get built and Americans will pay the price with higher energy bills.” The report said solar power and energy storage represent 79% of new capacity installed in the first year of the second Trump administration.
“It’s clear that solar will continue to be the dominant source of new power capacity in the United States, even as gas generation continues to grow,” said Michelle Davis, head of solar at Wood Mackenzie and lead author of the report. “Strong demand growth combined with escalating costs of new gas plants will allow solar to remain competitive, even without tax credits.”
Policy Impacts
The report also looks at scenarios showing how policy changes could impact the solar market, including how final guidance on Foreign Entity of Concern provisions, the outcome of pending trade actions, and the ability of projects to secure permits in an uncertain regulatory environment will determine how much solar capacity is installed. It notes that the market for residential solar power faces headwinds due to changes in tax policy enacted last year.
Though the solar industry installed 43.2 GW direct current (GWdc) of capacity in 2025, that total is a 14% drop from 2024. The report said the utility-scale sector shrank nearly 40% quarter-over-quarter in the fourth quarter of last year.
U.S.-based manufacturing of solar power equipment is helping grow the domestic market. The report notes that the U.S. now has the capacity to produce every major component of the solar supply chain. Cell production capacity continued to grow, and module manufacturing increased more than 50% last year, with 65.5 GW of capacity now online.
Texas continues as the fastest-growing solar power market, leading all states with 11 GW of new installations last year. The report said 11 states set new annual installation records in 2025, and 12 states added more than 1 GW of new solar capacity.
The report said installations of residential solar fell about 2% last year compared to 2024, while the commercial solar segment grew about 6%. Community solar installations took a hit, with a 25% decline year-over-year. Utility-scale solar installations dropped 16% in 2025 compared to 2024 levels.
—Darrell Proctor is a senior editor for POWER.
